Palestinians seek jail time in Israel to avail themselves of educational benefits and inmate stipends available in Israeli prisons. JTA reports:

Israeli officials have reported an increasing number of young Palestinians trying to get themselves imprisoned in Israel.

A Reuters story issued Thursday quoted army officials as saying that, since the beginning of the year, dozens of Palestinian youths have turned up at West Bank checkpoints with makeshift weapons, hoping to get arrested.

Under interrogation, the youths have said they wanted to avail themselves of the educational services and inmate stipends available in Israeli prisons.

Several of the detainees have been released after the army determined that they posed no security threat. But Israel is concerned by the phenomenon, given the chance that soldiers at checkpoints could respond to the armed Palestinians with lethal force.

The billions and billions of aid dollars flowing to the Palestinians have been used to support the high living lifestyles of their leaders, to prepare and commit acts of terror, and to indoctrinate their youth, either in schools or summer camps, to hate all non—Muslims.

Since they are incapable of getting a decent education in the West Bank or Gaza, many are increasingly trying to get arrested so as to benefit from Israeli educational programs run in prison. Now that is a different kind of education in prison. They would rather be imprisoned by the Israelis than live under the tutelage of their own incompetent and evil leadership.

Ed Lasky   5 12 06